Once upon a time, Jennifer’s Dad said we were just like Thelma & Louise. We laughed. Nearly 14 years later we’re still laughing, but now we have little people to laugh with us, at us, and to enjoy being the butt of our jokes.

Here in Hawaii white coral is used to write graffiti on the black lava rock. We pulled over to illustrate.

After further research, I’ve discovered that these fruit trees do in fact grow in Florida. However the fruit is more commonly found in Asian markets. As soon as I get home I’ll hunt down said markets and make sure I have plenty to share. Here though they sell for as much as $5.99 a pound! I can’t begin to imagine how much they cost back home. Here they grow everywhere and yet they’re still fairly expensive. We were able to get them for little to nothing; seeing as the orchard lines the drive we take to our jungle house in the eucalyptus forrest where we currently reside. We made a nice deal with the caretaker who just happens to be Jen’s psuedo-uncle. We paid him $1 for each pound we picked ourselves.

Located along the Hamakua Coast on the northeast shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the Waipi?o Valley is the largest and most southern of the seven valleys on the windward side of the Kohala Mountains. We braved the drive down with the help of Suni and his 4×4 and his ocean kayak strapped to the roof. Malik and Suni were certain they were going to catch some fish. Either at the freshwater river that runs through the valley, at the ocean shore, or by diving into the ice cold depths just past the shoreline armed with spear guns. Malik and I enjoyed the paddle upstream in the kayak so much that we even discussed buying one of our own once we touched back home. Despite the overcast day, the valley was indescribably beautiful.

I may never get all the sand out of Leila’s hair. After sleeping on the beach for a week, it’s a wonder we don’t have lots more sand in infinite more places. We loved every minute though. Each morning we’d rise with the sun, and each evening we’d drift off to the sunset. The lapping sounds of the water hitting the rocks found us wonderfully relaxed at the end of every day. The rum helped too.

Day one I awoke to a roach on my face. That was seriously uncool, but what did I really expect? Day two there were mice. Not scary rants like in big cities, but cute little country mice stopping in to see if we left any food laying around. Of course this little visit had Jen standing on whatever she could find and whooping like a school girl. Mice don’t bother me, but roaches make my skin crawl. I guess it’s a childhood thing. Either way- she took care of the roaches, and I took care of the mice. Day three we hiked 20 minutes through the searing hot desert of “pokey trees”. These trees had huge, nasty barbs that promised to draw blood if you accidentally stepped onto one. Which, of course I did. Several times. The long hike was well worth it though, once we found our way down to Kiholo Bay, we spotted a group of turtles sunning on the beach. This particular bay offers a saltwater/freshwater mix. Some ideas the water is very warm, and in others the freshwaters well out of the ground and make for ice cold patches. Before the end of the day we found our way to yet another beach to watch the sunset between the palm trees.

Day four, the lovely Gwen cam to visit and we enjoyed a few moments of girlie giggles out in the surf while the kids worked on sandcastles. By now Malik has become very comfortable with a boogie board and has even considered learning to surf. Suni offered to teach him, but I’m not sure how brave my little angel really is. We’ve been pushing him to be brave enough to let us give him a mohawk, but that hasn’t happened yet either.

Day five and we were packing up to head up into the mountains to camp in the Eucalyptus forest. Still no power, no internet, but at least this week promises indoor showers.

Today we filled our backpacks with bottled water and prepared for a long, hot hike up the lava fields to find out if we could see any hot molten lava. So far we’ve been delighted by all the rock formation on this side of the island, but we were ready for something a bit more exciting. Hiking two miles uphill on broken black asphalt would challenge most anyone, but the kids and I were determined to make it as far as we could- and then back again. When we arrived at the entry point, we discovered the government had placed barricades in hopes of enforcing specific entry points and times. Unfortunately we were early and met with signs suggesting the possibility of our arrest if we continued. While Jen discussed her rights as a tax payer with a few other people who arrived just behind us, I decided I was tired of standing there with a 30lb backpack on and just started walking. Soon everyone else started to follow and we were on our way.

At the end of the hike we reached a cliff with barricades and caution tape. Just beyond we could see smoke rising at the spot where the hot lava hit the ice cold ocean water. When this happens it explodes into tiny rocks that resemble the black beach sand seen on many older beaches. Here we could see the newest beach in the world, forming right before our eyes. No barricades we going to stop us, and we climbed over the tape and down the side of the cliff. Jen and Leila agreed that they’d already broken the law enough just by hiking this far and they we satisfied with the view right where they were. Malik opted for hiking with me, suggesting that there was no way he was going to watch his mother hike off by herself. The sentiment was sweet and appreciated, but he was just as curious as I was. We hiked carefully and scooped up handfuls of this beautiful new beach just to feel it fun through our fingers. The waves were violently slapping up against our new beach and we were happy to take our photos and head back to the rest of the group. As we left the park we passed the National Guard arriving to open the viewing area we’d already seen. They looked at us slightly puzzled but we smiled and waved and they smiled and waved back, no harm no foul.

After the long hot hike we coasted down to a little overpriced dive by the sea for Ahi and Ono burgers. Afterwards we took a stroll through the native Hawaiian gardens where they displayed their arguments for the return of their rights as native Hawaiians; a struggle not unlike that of our Native Americans. The hike offered colorful orchids, fragrant plumeria trees, and just before we made it back to the truck we stumbled upon the most delightful Hawaiian moonshine brewing bootleggers. They were more than happy to share their process and purpose with us. It turns out they were attempting to brew ethanol for their converted car using bananas and the resulting alcohol was just a bonus. We all enjoyed a few good laughs before thanking them and declining their invite to return later for drinks.

Malik caught a beautiful trigger fish while shore fishing with Suni yesterday. I’m still waiting on Suni to email me the photo because as soon as Malik caught it and snapped a few photos, Suni chopped it up to use as bait. He successfully caught an smaller fish than Malik originally caught, but then used that for bait as well. He then returned the boys and camped out on the shore all night hoping to catch something bigger and more exciting. This morning Suni showed up with something more exciting….this one is also getting chopped up to use for bait. This ugly beast wasn’t supposed to eat his bait, in fact it swallowed it whole so I guess it wasn’t a complete loss; he did pull it back out and intends to reuse it.

The smell of hot tofu scramble, sourdough pancakes, and the delightful sounds of rhythmic drumming filled the air starting at 8am this morning. Locals brought handmade soaps, jellies, and jams to sell and then the coconut truck pulled up and the kids could all be seen running around with topless coconuts that donned big straws made from the stems of the papaya leaf. Handmade “Filthy Farmgirl” soaps were a must as a souvenir purchase, and the first thing I’ve seen that I really just had to have- short of the dashboard hula dancer I picked up earlier this week for Dawne. Breakfast at the arts center was quite the festival.

Another hour later and the kids were riding on the street in front of the house on the Belly Acres’ bicycle built for two. Father’s Day arts and crafts followed before Malik was rescued by Suni and the great fishing trip expedition. While Malik and Bryan were off with Uncle Suni, Jen and I would take Tristan and Leila to Hilo to visit the wholesale fabric outlet. We both have delusions of making the perfect summer dress and bought all the materials required to do so. No trip to “town” would be complete with a visit to KTA- the grocery store. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how much food five people go through in a week. It seems like all we do is acquire food, prepare food, and clean up after consuming food. Today we’re preparing for the big Father’s Day BBQ were hosting tomorrow. I’ve been feeling rather guilty for not being home with my Dad and Malik and Leila with theirs. Then again I keep telling myself that it’s just another obligatory holiday designed to sell more junk.

Hard Cider and the sunset is next on the agenda.